Wireless

Usually when we talk about wireless plans, we're talking about postpaid plans that come with a subsidized device. Most carriers, however, offer prepaid plans to those who already own a device or want to buy one at full retail price, and today Verizon is adding a new one to its line up. A word of warning, though: While the monthly cost on this new plan is low, so is the amount of data you're afforded each month.

Google announced their intention to acquire IoT platform Xively this week, aiming for a new layer of value in their connected future. If you trust Google, this announcement was a bit of good news. Xively may give Google the technology and knowhow to bring their fully connected smart home to life for millions of users around the world. It could be great.

International phone service is generally something no one wants to talk about. International roaming charges at the big four US carriers can wind up being ridiculously expensive if you don't monitor your usage closely, and it isn't uncommon for folks to come back to phone bills that are much more expensive than what they're accustomed to paying. Google's Project Fi, on the other hand, is taking a more laid back approach to international coverage.

The Fujifilm X Series has a new top performer in the just-announced X-H1. This is the newest camera in the X Series and the first (in the series) to include 5-axis 5.5 stops in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This is also the first time the X Series will gain access to the ETERNA Film Simulation feature right out the box.

Qualcomm is celebrating something of a win today. As we're barreling toward a 5G future, Qualcomm has been attempting to sell its OEM partners on its Snapdragon X50 5G NR modem family. The company unsuprisingly wants this hardware at the center of the first 5G devices we'll see roll out over the next couple of years. Today, Qualcomm announced a fairly major victory on that front.

Premium equipment naturally comes with a premium price tag. It might not always be so but it’s pretty much the status quo. Unfortunately, that situation turns off many of those who would appreciate the quality experience offered by these products. Fortunately, Naim Audio, one of the biggest names in the premium audio equipment market, has felt the pain of audiophiles and has launched the Naim Uniti Atom, the entry-level music player form its new Uniti product line that promises a premium listening experience, no wires attached.

Rumors can sometimes surface and then be quashed with an incredible amount of speed, and today, the best example we have of that kind of turnaround involves the future of the country's 5G networks. Over the weekend, rumors claiming that the National Security Council was considering building a nationalized 5G network began to surface. Now, the Trump administration has officially chimed in, putting those rumors to bed.

It isn't often we see discounts on iPhones, but every once in a while, carriers like to break them out to get people in the door. Today, that carrier is Verizon, which has announced a new BOGO deal on the most recent iPhones. That offer is a little convoluted, as these carrier deals tend to be, with Verizon imposing a few different requirements in order to take advantage of it.

In recent days, attention was drawn to Google Cast and its involvement in Wi-Fi issues for some users. Today Google has released a support page acknowledging the problem, saying that there's a bug where Chromecast devices could cause slow Wi-Fi performance. That bug originates from the Cast software for Android phones, Google explains, which could "incorrectly send a large amount of network traffic" that negatively impacts wireless networks.

Google is rolling out an interesting new feature called Bill Protection to Project Fi subscribers today. Bill Protection seems to be Google's take on unlimited data plans from the big four, which were all launched early last year in quick succession. There are, of course, a few difference between Project Fi's Bill Protection and unlimited data plans from the other carriers, and those might make a jump to Project Fi worth it.

Though it's probably going to be quite some time before we see 5G networks that are as easily accessible as today's 4G LTE networks, AT&T is ready to get the ball moving. The company today announced its plans to begin rolling out mobile 5G by the end of this year. We have the 3GPP's recent completion of some 5G new radio standards to thank for this move, which were defined back at the end of December.

Mesh networking is becoming an increasingly popular solution to extending the range of home and business WiFi networks over a large area. Getting started with mesh networking, however, can be a bit on the expensive side. Getting up and running with a mesh network can mean having to replace your old router and purchase a bundle that comes with a new router and the nodes that will form your mesh network.